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Foster Care to Adulthood (2005-2008)

This initiative has concluded.

Young people who grow up in foster care face daunting odds when they “age out” of that system as adults. Many of them find themselves without a job and without a home. Before long, many are incarcerated, and others become parents before they are ready. Staying in school is fraught with obstacles, from unaffordable tuition, to episodic housing, to a lack of academic and emotional supports. Whatever their obstacles and opportunities, foster youth are far more likely than other young people to face those obstacles and opportunities alone.

This protocol, developed by students and Professor Emily Buss in the course of a workshop at the University of Chicago Law School, is designed to assist those interested in reforming the law and the legal process to improve foster youths’ transition from foster care to adulthood.